Nikola Jokic was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial. He was taken 41st overall in 2014and got mad at his brothers for waking up to congratulate him. Now, he’s a back-to-back MVP and eligible to sign the largest contract in NBA history.
Jokic was never the highest-touted prospect. In fact, it seemed like he wasn’t that much into basketball at all. He wasn’t in the best shape, wasn’t that athletic, and wasn’t that much of a rim protector. But his skill set was unique alright.
Even at a young age, Jokic’s unicorn talent was evident to his coaches. But when DejanMilojevic first got to him, he couldn’t even do a push-up and was far from a professional hooper.
NBA News: Nikola Jokic’s Former Coach Says He Was ‘Some Chubby Fat Kid’
“Actually our owner of the club where I was working, he literally found out about him in a paper,”Milojevic said.“He was looking at a report from some junior league. And he saw the guy scoring like 30 points or something… When we figured out that he was literally practicing 3-4 times a week, that he was some chubby fat kid.”
“When I got him, I saw the talent but I told my owner, we should give him a one month break, just to make him capable of playing a professional level,” Milojevic added. “He couldn’t do push-ups, I was afraid that older guys were going to hurt him. One month, he was just working with a trainer, then he became capable.”
Fortunately, Jokic took things personally and started working his heart off to get in shape and prove his worth. Now, he’s considered the greatest passing big of all time and one of the most unique players to ever set foot on an NBA hardwood.
